Plenty of bold-faced big shots have rolled into Tampa's MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre through the years and sold out the place. Jimmy Buffett and Kenny Chesney made a habit of it. But until Thursday and today, no one in the venue's decadelong history, especially someone with only a few albums, had ever sold out back-to-back nights — some 40,000 fans total.

That was the case when Luke Bryan kicked off a much-anticipated two-night stint at Tampa's shed on Thursday, with red-hot duo Florida Georgia Line opening the show. It was a night of cheesy but effective country posturing and nods to pop, hip hop and even heavy metal.